OPTIC • DICTIONARY ONE.COM • Definition of Optic

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/ˈɑptɪk/ Listen

noun

Optic n.

1.

The organ of sight; an eye. "The difference is as great between The optics seeing, as the object seen."

2.

An eyeglass. (Obs.)

adjective

Optical, Optic adj.

1.

Of, pertaining to, or using vision or sight; as, optical illusions.

Synonyms: ocular, optic, visual. "The moon, whose orb Through optic glass the Tuscan artist views."

2.

Of or pertaining to the eye; ocular; as, the optic nerves (the first pair of cranial nerves) which are distributed to the retina; the optic (or optical) axis of the eye.

3.

Relating to the science of optics or to devices designed to assist vision; as, optical works; optical equipment.

Optic angle (Opt.), the angle included between the optic axes of the two eyes when directed to the same point; sometimes called binocular parallax.

Optic axis. (Opt.)

(a)

A line drawn through the center of the eye perpendicular to its anterior and posterior surfaces. In a normal eye it is in the direction of the optic axis that objects are most distinctly seen.

(b)

The line in a doubly refracting crystal, in the direction of which no double refraction occurs. A uniaxial crystal has one such line, a biaxial crystal has two.

Optical circle (Opt.), a graduated circle used for the measurement of angles in optical experiments.

Optical square, a surveyor's instrument with reflectors for laying off right angles.

See images of 'Optic'

Etymology of 'Optic'

Collaborative International Dictionary of English 0.48

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"Optic" Quotes from Famous Books

... turned slightly to the left and began to get the rest—the great levelled creature upon the darkened floor. Skag kept his imagination down until his optic nerves actually brought him the picture. The long thin sweep was the mother's tail, yet she was not crouched. Skag saw her sprawled paws extended toward him. She lay upon ...

— Son of Power • Will Levington Comfort and Zamin Ki Dost

... that, it did so," said Davis, touching the optic tenderly. But Kildare was answering a question ...

— The Dop Doctor • Clotilde Inez Mary Graves

... object augments or diminishes to the eye or imagination from a comparison with others, the image and idea of the object are still the same, and are equally extended in the retina, and in the brain or organ of perception. The eyes refract the rays of light, and the optic nerves convey the images to the brain in the very same manner, whether a great or small object has preceded; nor does even the imagination alter the dimensions of its object on account of a comparison with others. The question then is, how from the ...

— A Treatise of Human Nature • David Hume

... violently; tears, which usually announce the end of the paroxysm, often indicate only a progressive stage which is to become much more intense. In this case there follow spasmodic contractions of the muscles, trembling in all the limbs, a total numbness in the feet and hands, partial paralysis of the optic and auditory nerves. I can no longer see, I can hardly hear: vertigo ... almost swooning...." Such was the effect of music ...

— Chopin and Other Musical Essays • Henry T. Finck

... it; we cannot weigh or measure it. Further to illustrate this position: we do not see with our outward eye any more than we do with spectacles. The apparent ocular apparatus is but the passive, unconscious instrument to transmit images thrown through it upon a fine interior fibre, the optic nerve; and even this does not take cognizance of the object, but is only another conductor, carrying the image still farther inward, to the intellectual nerves of the brain; and not until it reaches them do we see the object, not until then is ...

— Essays AEsthetical • George Calvert

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